The Endless Struggle
by Hakuzo NightFox
Summary: This is a Sonic The Hedgehog story taking place in the SatAm universe of sonic, with only minor elements from other continuum.These are what my life would be like if I was living on Mobius and facing against Dr Robotnik. Guest starting Ivy MistFox as well
1. Chapter 1

SatAm Fanfic Series: The Endless Struggle.

Ver: 1.0

By: Hakuzo NightFox

Legal: This is a just for fun Fan-fic, I do not own any of the Characters belonging to Sega as they are copyrighted to Sega. I only own Hakuzo NightFox, and Bayne DayFox.

Chapter 1: The unveiling

Hakuzo NightFox, who is he exactly? Is he a shadow that haunts any form of robotic life? Is he a trained assassin, whose only goal is to kill the one named Robotnik? He is both of these, but neither at the same time. He is a Freedom Fighter, and he resides inside a hollowed out tree that is situated in the outer limits of Knothole.

The day started out like any other, it has been ten years since Hakuzo last seen his parents. Eric, a nine tailed Kitsune, was a royal guard for the Acorn kingdom. Gloria Hakuzo's mother also went missing during the chaos of what befell that fateful day.

Those memories still haunt Hakuzo to this day. He reflects on all that has happened thus far, while he polishes the runic daggers, one of the last presents that his father gave him. The blades had not a nick on them, as there where forged of a rare metal that can not be damaged easily.

Hakuzo lets out a sigh as he sheaths the daggers. So many lives have been lost already, and many more are struggling each day to overthrow the tyranny of the Robotnik Empire. Many of Hakuzo's friends have either been slain or Robotisized.

A knock on the door snaps Hakuzo out of his stupor. Hakuzo promptly gets up and opens his door. A small brownish colored fox with two tails greets him. "Hello Tails, Is something the matter?" Hakuzo asks the smaller fox.

"Nothing's wrong but Sonic sent me over here to fetch you, He has something he found the other day that he wants you to see." Tails replied with a big smile.

Hakuzo nods and follows Tails back towards the center of Knothole. Sonic and Rotor where waiting for the two foxes. Rotor, a large purple colored walrus, was adjusting and tinkering with an object on the table in front of him.

"Heya, Hakuzo, Look what I found!" Sonic exclaims proudly.

"Wow, you found a replacement scope for my rifle?" Hakuzo asks as he looks at the detail of it. "It even appears to be more powerful than the last one."

Sonic nods, "Yup, Stole it from old Buttnik this morning."

Rotor makes one final check and looks over the scope. "Yup, it's a real beauty. Looks like it will fit right up to your rifle."

"Thanks guys, now maybe I can hit further away targets now." Hakuzo takes the scope and places it carefully in a side pouch. Hakuzo was about walk of and fix his rifle when Tails called to him.

"Hey Hakuzo, You going to be here for my birthday party right?" Tails asks with a shy look on his face.

"Of course, Your ten years old now right?" Hakuzo asks his smaller likeness.

"Yup!, Sally said I can start more Freedom Fighter training tomorrow!" Tails exclaims.

"Great, I'll see you at the party them." Hakuzo says a quick goodbye to everyone and returns back to his home. He removes the scope and looks over the rifle. The old scope mount is an exact fit to this scope. Hakuzo looks through the scope and is amazed at how well Rotor tuned it for the gun.

Hakuzo loads up his clip of five rounds into the rifle and proceeds to his private shooting range. Each shot was more accurate this time, and he could see the targets clearer than before. Hakuzo give a nod and sets up for another round.

Outside of Robotroplis, the air was putrid as ever. Only a small rat could squeeze through the defenses Robotnik had set up for today. All of Robotroplis was on lock-down, as the large dictator put a new plan into motion.

"Today, Snivley, I will finally have that rodent." Robotnik exclaims as he paces the floor.

"Very good sir." Snivley, Robotnik's nephew answers in a monotone voice.

"What is one Sonic's main weakness? Pride! He thinks he is the fastest there is on this planet, but after today, Sonic will be nothing more than an average rodent." Robotnik gloats on about some plan, which Snivley mostly ignores. "Snivley, launch the stealth bots, and put out the bait."

"Right away Sir." Snivley replies and pushes a few buttons on the controls.

The stealth bots, flat shaped flying aircraft, follow the coordinates to a location outside of the Great forest. A Carrier ship drops off three modified Swatbots, which have plasma tanks on their backs. Hoses run to a special nozzle that is connected to a flame. The three bots start unleashing super-heated plasma at the surrounding forest.

One of the lookouts in Knothole spots the smoke coming from the edge of the great forest. An alarm sounds off as everyone scrambles back to the center of Knothole. Every freedom fighter is present and is briefed on the situation.

"Robotnik has Swatbots torching the great forest, we have to get over there and stop those bots at all cost!" Sally, a small ground squirrel, addresses everyone. "Sonic, you and Rotor will take point. Find a way to stop those bots and put out the fires. Tails, you will be advanced scout, You will keep watch and direct Hakuzo so he can do his job." Sally turns to Hakuzo.

"Yeah, I know, Snipe them, if ya got em. I'll make sure the bots are put down without hitting anyone else." Hakuzo answers.

Sally nods and addresses Bunny Rabbot and Antoine. "Bunny and Antoine will be backup. Once the bots are out of commission, you two will put out the fires, along with my help. Now we have to act quickly." Before Sally could finish her sentence, Sonic zips off, dragging Rotor behind him like a kite.

The rest rushed as fast as they could to the scene, while Sonic was already there and ready to act. "Hey bucket heads, this is the no smoking section of the forest, I'm going to have to take away your toys now!" Sonic announce himself in his normal haughty fashion.

"_PRIORITY ONE HEDGEHOG."_ The Swatbots squeak out in their robotic voices. The Swatbots sweep their nozzles toward Sonic but sonic just stayed out of their range.

"Too slow SwatB—" Sonic was cut off by a sudden impact to his leg.

"Foolish hedgehog, you ran straight into one of my mega-muck mines. How do you like it?" Robotnik's voice was dripping with venom as he approached the stopped hedgehog. "Today you lose rodent!"

"You know, Monologuing is your worse trait?" Sonic asks the larger Overlander.

"Your jokes will cease once your inside my Robotisizor!" Robotnik continues to gloat. A concussive blast hits a few seconds later. Robotnik is nearly knocked to the ground by the shockwave. Rotor quickly frees Sonic from the mega-muck mine, as Sonic gives a fake salute to Robotnik.

"See ya, later Buttnik!" Sonic says as he runs Rotor for safety. A second blast hits as another one of the Swatbot's tanks were struck. Robotnik was thoroughly confused at the situation at hand. Two of his Swatbots where struck down, and the third one stood stalk still.

"Move you fool!" Robotnik shouts at the last robot, but much too late, as the tank was also struck. Robotnik promptly retreats into his personal red colored carrier and flies back to Robotroplis.

Tails flies down and high-fives Hakuzo. "Nice shooting Hakuzo!"

Hakuzo slings his rifle over his shoulder. "Just doing my job, but we should help the others now put out those fires."

Sally and the others where already hard at work trying to put out the fires. This under normal circumstances was difficult enough, but the plasma used acts like napalm. Antoine was running around trying to throw dirt on the fires, but trips falling face first onto another mega-muck mine.

"W'at the?" Antoine tries to struggle out of the gooey substance, but only get trapped further. A Clawed hand reaches down and pulls Antoine up by the collar.

"You need to be more carefully Tony!" A dragon named Dulcy speaks as she lifts up the tail-less coyote. "Everyone stand back, I'll take care of these fires." Dulcy takes in a very deep breath and then she unleashes a stream of ice at the fire. The heat melts the ice instantly and the downpour of water vapor hits the fire at once. Moment later only steam rises out from the grass.

"You showed up just in time Dulcy." Sally thanks the green dragon as she surveys the damage done. "It looks like minimal damage around here."

"If it wasn't for the explosions, I would have flew on over without a second thought." Dulcy relates the tale as she stretches out her wings. Once all the fires were extinguished everyone relocates back to knothole.

After everyone calmed down, the preparations for Tails birthday party are well underway. Sonic's job was to keep Tails occupied while everyone else finished up the birthday party. Hakuzo was no exception, his job was to help with the decorations while keeping an eye out for Sonic and Tails.

The sun was at it's highest point in the sky while everyone was gathered at the center of Knothole. Hakuzo spots Sonic and Tails and mimics a whistle of a local bird. Everyone hides out of sight as the duo approach the area where the party is to take place.

All of Knothole jumps out at the same time and yells "Surprise!" to Tails. Tails proceeds to thank everyone in turn and then is directed to a make shift platform in the middle of the crowd. Sonic jumps up on the platform and puts on a heroic sounding voice.

"Everyone, thank you for your efforts to make this party possible for my little bro. Today he turn ten years old. We officially recognize him as an official Freedom Fighter now." Sonic bows, and everyone cheers. Sonic jump up into a somersault and lands lightly on the ground. He urges Tails onto the platform, and the brown fox nervously stands up.

"I...I don't know what to say... All of you have been so wonderful to me... You're the best family I can ask for..." Tails runs out of words to say, unsure what to say next. Sonic jumps back into the platform and places a hand lightly on Tail's shoulder.

"It's okay little buddy, We know how you feel." Tails nods at Sonic's words. Tails was about to say something else but smoke started filling the area. Gasps and whispers that this is an attack by Robotnik.

Once the smoke clears, a lone human with an extremely long beard stands erect. The whole crowd falls silent as the Overlander magician begins to speak. He points a finger at the two tailed fox, "You, I've had a vision about you young fox. Your destiny begins now, and the one to help you..." The Overlander then points to Hakuzo. "Is you Hakuzo."

Hakuzo has heard legends about this Overlander but this is the first time Hakuzo has met this wizard. "How do you know my name?" Hakuzo asks the wizard.

"I, Lazar, know much about you. I also know a lot about the rest of this small village. I am more interested in the two foxes right now. Both of you are to form a magical bond, Hakuzo is to train Tails in the art of Kitsunik magic." Lazar makes a flourishing movements with his hands and Hakuzo is lifts into the air and is flung at Lazar as if being pulled by an invisible thread. "There is a magic locked away inside of you Hakuzo. I can only waken a small part of that now."

Lazar waves his hands again and Hakuzo starts to glow an eerie bluish green color. "You remember what your father told you about FoxFire?" Lazar asks the white fox.

"Yes... but I've never been able to summon it on my own before." Hakuzo answers.

"Try it now young one." Lazar says with his hands extend, his palm facing upwards. A ball of bluish green fire appears in his hand.

Hakuzo gives a slight nod and holds out his hand the same way. In a matter of moments, buried instincts took hold of Hakuzo and old memories come back to him. A flare of light , and a small flicker of flame appears in Hakuzo's palm. That flame grows to twice the size of what Lazar summoned. Hakuzo opens his eyes in disbelief.

"That is all I can show you for now. For you to unlock the rest of your magic, you need two things, A sword forged for you by a long forgotten Deity, and lastly you must seek out your sister." Lazar states this and starts to fade from view.

"WAIT! You mean my sister is alive?" Hakuzo shouts but Lazar disappears before he could respond. Hakuzo slumps to his knees as memories of his long lost sister fill his head. The rest of the crowd was speechless.

Tail's face held a look of excitement and confusion at the same time. Sonic looks back and forth between the two foxes. Not even Sonic has known Hakuzo had a sister, and He wonders why Hakuzo has never mentioned her before.

The tension in the air was thick enough to cut with a laser blast. More whispers about what was unleashed continue around and soon a new rumor spreads around that Hakuzo isn't the person they thought they knew. Hakuzo was unaware of all of this as emotions fill him, he slowly gets up to his feet.

Sonic jumps down and places both hands on Hakuzo's shoulders, "You going to be alright man?"

"yeah…"Was all Hakuzo could answer.

This single event will be a day everyone in Knothole will remember. Things finally calm down but there is still an uneasy feel in the air. The party proceeds as planned and everyone gives Tails a present for becoming a new Freedom Fighter. A dark colored Knapsack, and other small things any Freedom Fighter may need. Rotor gave Tails a compass as a present. Bunny's present was a field guide to identify local wild life. Sonic gave Tails his first power ring ever created by Uncle Chuck as a good luck charm.

This went on until the last one to give Tails a present was Hakuzo. The present was a multi-tool like the one Hakuzo carries. It has as a file, knife blade, a mini saw blade and a pair of pliers all built in.

"Um… Hakuzo… is what Lazar said… true?..." Tails asks the older White fox.

"Hmm….. The thing's he said…. Has to be. I know in my heart they are true words." Hakuzo answers, trying to push back fresh memories.

"Ok then… I want you to teach me all you can then!" Tails exclaims to Hakuzo while Sonic takes on a slightly shocked and jealous look.

"I don't know how I could even begin to teach you… but I will do what I can." Hakuzo simply answers. At this Sonic just about lost it. He marches up to Hakuzo.

"Would you please follow me for a moment?" Sonic asks Hakuzo. Hakuzo nods slightly and follows the blue hedgehog, noticing that Sonic was suddenly angry at something.

"What is i—" Hakuzo was cut off as Sonic suddenly spun around and threw a punch at Hakuzo. Hakuzo tries to dodge out of the way, but was still hit in the left shoulder, being knocked backwards.

"YOU THINK YOU CAN COME HERE AND THEN TAKE OVER MY BUDDY LIKE THAT? HE HAS BEEN LIKE A LITTLE BROTHER TO ME!" Sonic shouts as he does a round-house kick at Hakuzo. Hakuzo barely block the attack in time, and is knocked on his butt, do to the force of the kick. "YOU THINK SOME WIZARD IS THE TRUTH AND THAT YOU ARE SOME GRAND SAVIOR?"

"S-Sonic… Calm… down please." Hakuzo stammers while he prepares to block another attack.

"YOU KNOW HOW MANY PROFFICES I'VE SEEN COME TRUE? AND HOW MANY MORE I"VE STOPPED BY MY OWN HAND? THE SINGLE MOST ONE I COULD NEVER CHANGE WAS ROBOTNIK TAKING OVER!" Sonic continues to yell as he flips into a spin-kick.

"No one is trying to take away anyone!" Hakuzo exclaims as he rolls out of the way of the attack.

"SONIC STOP IT RIGHT NOW!" Sally yells as she comes running up onto the two. "Hakuzo didn't do anything, why are you attacking him?"

"I…I don't know…." Sonic says, suddenly looking ashamed. He casts his eyes downward at the ground, suddenly seem back to normal. "I… Something came over me…. I Couldn't control my anger for some reason. I suddenly became jealous over something so stupid… can you forgive me Hakuzo?"

"…Yeah… It was a big deal anyways." Hakuzo answers… unsure at what just happened.

"This is so unlike you Sonic." Sally sighs out wondering how this situation came about. First Lazar, then Sonic acting strangely… Something odd was going on and Sally knows she has to keep an eye on things.

"I knew that Feulish hedgehoug, was out going to snap one day!" Antoine proclaims.

"NOT NOW ANTOINE!" everyone yells out in unison, making the Small coyote feel even smaller.

"Sonic… I think you need to sit out tonight's mission. We can't take any chances of something like this happening again." Sally instructs Sonic while she tries to figure out who will replace Sonic on tonight's mission. She ponders over what Lazar said too, and wonders what exactly Hakuzo must teach Tails. "Hakuzo, since Sonic will be staying behind, I want you to take Tails into Robotroplis tonight. You are to remain hidden, and are not to go into the open for any reason."

"I understand Sally." Hakuzo replies, "I'll go on and prepare then." Hakuzo stands up and brushes himself off. Still uneasy over everything that has happened, but he knows he has a job he must fulfill.

Tails watched silently as everyone start to prepare for tonight. So many raw thoughts running through his head, the young fox was lost in an eddy of emotions. Everyone was on edge and now his own friend attacked another member of the Freedom Fighters. Bunny comes over and consults the young fox, trying to calm him down and reassure him.

Sonic moped around for the remainder of the afternoon, angered at himself for his outburst. He still doesn't know what came over him, but he plans to find out tonight while everyone one else was on the mission.

Sonic raced through the Great Unknown, a vastly unexplored part of Mobius. Part desert, part rocky terrain, followed with a stretch of oozing bogs and swaps. The further sonic traveled away from Knothole, the worse the surroundings got. This place makes Robotroplis look like a flower filled garden, and the sight was depressing.

Sonic inched ever closer to the Forbidden Zone. Sonic has only been here once, but once was all he hoped he ever needed. He stops at a fenced area, the entrance into the Forbidden Zone.

"Lazar resides in this crumby place. I hope I've never had to return here." Sonic says out loud musing over this dismal place.

A cloaked figure wearing an iron mask appears before Sonic suddenly. "My master has been expecting you, Come this way Hedgehog." The cloaked figure turns around and starts walking down a path filled with pools of stagnate water.

Sonic was lead up to a giant gaping mouth that marks the entrance of Lazar's iron fortress. Its jaw is comprised of jagged rusted metal. A tingle runs down Sonic's spine, as the last time he was here, he had to out run Lazar's bodyguard and make it through death traps in one piece.

The bodyguard places his hands on a stone wall, and a passage way appears. _So that's how the bodyguard go here so quickly last time_, Sonic thinks to himself. Torches light up in succession down the long tunnel. Within a few minutes the two arrive at Lazar's main chamber.

Lazar's super computer, A large chunk of quarts crystal connected to a miniature computer device, floats in the air above a pedestal. Lazar was the first Overlander to blend magic and technology together, gaining the name Technomage.

Lazar notices Sonic looking over his super computer again. "So you've come to take my super computer again have you?" Lazar asks the hedgehog as he approaches.

"No… I um…." Sonic stammers lost for words.

"Calm down young one, I'm only joking with you. You can't use the device anymore anyways. I've magically encrypted it, But onto the point of your visit." Lazar waves his hand a chair appears. "Have a seat and stay for a spell."

Sonic carefully sits down in the chair. Looking Rather nervous while being there. "Yeah, I want some answers, and I want them now!" Sonic demands from Lazar, suddenly forgetting his nervousness.

"As impatient as ever young one, but, in this case, I will let it slide as there is an urgency in all of this. Mobius is entering into a second magical age, and the age of technology will come to a halting end. Technology and Magic will clash into a giant war, and if one side does not win, the world will be destroyed." Lazar begins his story to Sonic as a look of worry falls across the hedgehog's face.

Dusk was starting to settle onto Robotroplis. Hakuzo and Tails are perched behind a large pile of robotic parts left out for junk. Hakuzo sits back and watches the nearby Swatbot factory, while keeping an eye out for any floating camera robots called Spybots.

"You see that Swatbot over there Tails?" Hakuzo asks the Tails.

"Yeah?" the little fox replies.

"Take those binoculars in your backpack and take a look at the Swatbot, line up the Swatbot with the dot in the middle of the screen, this is the built in range finder. At the bottom of HUD, there is a number that with an F by it. That is the number of feet away the Swatbot is, tell me that number please." Hakuzo tells the fox while watching the Swatbot through the scope of his rifle.

"It's 450 foot away Hakuzo." Tails answers while watching the Swatbot.

"Good, that's what we call, 'calling a shot' now watch while I take the shot." Hakuzo lines up the cross-hairs in the scope for the Swatbot. He adjusts the scope settings to compensate for bullet drop. He watches carefully for any hint of wind, but the air appears to be calm. Next Hakuzo takes a deep breath and hold it. He gently squeezes the trigger back and the bullet accelerates out of the silenced muzzle. The bullet hits the Swatbot in the red visor of its sensor unit, and the robot falls down to the ground.

"Wow, direct hit Hakuzo!" Tails shouts.

"EH!, not so loud Tails, we have to be stealthy here. Keep an eye out for any Spybots that investigate." Hakuzo says as he pulls back the slide on the rifle, allowing another bullet to be chambered. This particular rifle has two firing modes, semi-automatic, and single shot. The setting is currently on single shot for the most accuracy.

Like clockwork a Spybot flies into the area and takes a picture of the downed Swatbot. Hakuzo lines up on the smaller target and takes another shot. The Spybot is sent flying off into a nearby wall.

Once the entrance was clear, Bunny and Rotor snuck up to the door and Rotor punched in the combination that Sally relayed to him. The door opens and the two continue inside. There appeared to be no other guards near the door as they press forward.

Inside, there where only a few lights as Robians, Robotisized Mobians, and Swatbots do not need much light to see in the dark. The two sneak to the control room and only a single Workerbot is inside at the controls. Bunny karate chops the robot with her partially Robotisized hand and takes the head clean off.

Bunny takes post at the door as lookout, as Rotor starts overloading the controls for the factory. An alarm sounds off as the current running though the electronics become too high. Bunny and Rotor run outside of the building as fast as they could.

"That's our cue to move Tails!" Hakuzo quickly jumps up and Starts running away from the factory. He has a minimum safe distance away from the factory marked and the two only have a few moments to get there.

"Right behind you Hakuzo." Tails yells while trying to catch up. Hakuzo may not be faster than Sonic, but he is faster than most of Knothole. Tails uses his Tails as a boost to catch up with Hakuzo. Hakuzo dive behind a large metal pipe as an explosion rocks the area.

Tails dives over just in time as a piece of shrapnel flies over him. The piece grazes his left arm as he ducks down. The wound started bleeding instantly. "Shoot!" Hakuzo quickly retrieves a first aid kit from his own backpack and quickly takes care of the wound. "There you will be ok now Tails." Hakuzo tells Tails once the wound was dressed.

Before Tails could utter a reply, metallic voices cut through the air. "_BY ORDER OF ROBOTNIK YOU ARE UNDER ARREST!_"


	2. Chapter 2

SatAm Fanfic Series: The Endless Struggle.

Ver: 1.0

By: Hakuzo NightFox

Legal: This is a just for fun Fan-fic, I do not own any of the Characters belonging to Sega as they are copyrighted to Sega. I only own Hakuzo NightFox, and Bayne DayFox. Ivy MistFox Belongs to herself.

Chapter 2: The Missing One.

Sonic looks a bit faint. "So... how did this come about?" Sonic asks Lazar trying to make sense of all that is happening.

Lazar put his hand to his beard and deliberates the best way to tell Sonic what is going to happen. "The cause of this is Nagaus. He figured a way to escape the void, but in doing so, he unleashed a chain of events that enabled magic to return to Mobius."

Sonic jumps up from his seat. "You mean that if Nagaus can escape the void, King Maximilian will also be able to escape as well?"

"Yes... It is quite possible for our noble king to return once again." Lazar ponders on how much more he should tell the hedgehog, but he mustn't tell him everything just yet. "In time the rest will make it's self apparent. For now your friends need your help, Go to them at once." Lazar pushes a button on his belt, and Sonic is teleported somewhere else.

Elsewhere, in the Great Plains, there is a vixen of white fur roaming, searching for something. She has special blue markings above her eyes, and her cloths are slightly torn and ragged. She has no home and has been living off of the land as best as she could.

She is sitting down Indian style on a patch of grass, resting after a long day's travel. The wind blows through the field, ruffling a bit of her fur, causing a soothing effect on the vixen. She reflects on her life, why she has been on the run for so many years. Her thoughts are drawn back to one person, a person she only seen once before her life was turned into a living nightmare.

That nightmare was caused by the tyrant Robotnik. Ever since his robots started tearing up her home, she had no choice but to flee. At the time, she was barely 15 years old. For 3 long years she has been alone in these struggles. She taught her self how to fight and use the what ever scraps of technology she could scavenge from Robotroplis.

The vixen idly plays around with a chakram like, crescent shaped blade. The blades where given to her by the one she is looking for. They where a present from him a very long time ago, before all the chaos started. They have shaved her life a few times, and she is grateful for them.

She lets out a sigh, and gets to her feet. The vixen then heads toward Robotroplis for a night time raid. As she enters the city, an explosion rocks the air. She runs off to the source of the explosion hoping to raid something in the chaos.

Sonic arrives in time to hear, "_BY ORDER OF ROBOTNIK YOU ARE UNDER ARREST!_" Sonic quickly jumps into action and spin kicks one of the robots.

"Not today bucket brains, you can tell your master to find a new hobby for me." Sonic dodges a laser beam so quickly he could have ate a chilly dog before he moved. "Too slow, have this on me!" Sonic then axel kicks another Swatbot, while dodging another laser beam. Sonic dodges two more Swatbots as they blast each other and falling over from the damage. Sonic laughs and then he looks onto who he rescued. His heart suddenly drops, as he sees it was Hakuzo and Tails. Sonic notices Tail's bandaged arm and rushes over to him. "Are you ok little buddy?" Sonic asks.

"yeah….I got hit by a piece of shrapnel…. Hakuzo bandaged it up for me." Tails said quietly.

Sonic turns to Hakuzo, "I'm…. sorry Hakuzo… I didn't mean any of what I said. I don't know what came over me…I'll be proud to have you help my little bud." Sonic says in a sincere voice.

"It's ok Sonic... I know you didn't mean any of it." Hakuzo replies. He trusts his friend and knows that a lot has happened to all of them. Hakuzo doesn't want everyone to be fighting with each other... they all should be working together.

The group gather up what part where still salvageable from the Swatbots and the three head to the designated clearing near the edge of Robotroplis. Bunny and Rotor were already waiting. "Why shuga hog, when did you show up?" Bunny asks in her southern accent.

"I sort of dropped in to make sure everyone was ok. I also got a few new toys for you to play with too Rotor." Sonic talks to his friends as if nothing strange has happened. Inside, he knows that things are going to become much worse for all of them, but Sonic doesn't have the heart to bring his friends any more depressing news.

The group returns to knothole after accomplishing their mission. Everyone was quiet on the way back. Each lost in their own thoughts of the events that played out today. Each one having their own doubts of what happened, and each trying to hold onto the very reason for moving forward.

An metallic voice fills the air suddenly, announcing a building has exploded. "SNIVLEY!, WHAT HAPPENED TO MY FACTORY?" Robotnik yells at his nephew.

"I... Working on it sir!" Snivley squeaks out as his reply. He presses different buttons and all available Spybots converge on the area. An image of a white fox appears on the screen. "It appears that one they call Hakuzo is to blame for this sir."

Robotnik stands up and looks closer at the screen. "No, this one isn't Hakuzo, the are too short." Robotnik suddenly tells Snivley to pause the screen. "Look there... What are these marks?"

"I don't know sir." Snivley replied to the tyrant.

"THEN FIND OUT, While your at it, capture that fox and bring it to me!" Robotnik barked.

"On it sir." Snivley proceeds to tell orders into a microphone on the computer control system. He got a metallic response from one of the local Swatbots in the area.

The vixen makes it to the scene of the explosion. Smoke filled the air as everything inside of the building is still burning. "Shoot!, there too much damage here. I won't be able to scavenge anything." The vixen looks around for anything that could possibly be used later.

The sound of metal boots fills the air as Swatbots start filling the area. "_BY ORDER OF ROBOTNIK YOU WILL COME WITH US FOX."_

"Ugh, I don't think so you robotic freaks!" The vixen says as she draws out her crescent shaped chakrams. She throws both of them like a boomerang and takes out two the the Swatbots. The blades swing back around and strike two more bots before they could fire on the fox.

No matter how many Swatbots the vixen took out, more and more kept filling the area. "This isn't good. I'm getting out numbered I have to book it out of here." The vixen spins on her heals and bolts out toward the entrance of Robotroplis. Swatbots give chase on foot and also by flying chariots.

The flying chariots are controlled by normal Swatbots, and each craft has two lasers mounted on the front of them. The pair of Chariots gains quickly on the vixen as she continues to run. She ducks into an outcropping of a pipe, not knowing where it will lead. The flying chariots fly past going to fast and could not reverse their course quick enough to turn around. Once the Swatbots landed the craft and inspect the pipe, the soon realize they can't fit into it. The Swatbots report back to Robotnik that the fox got away.

The Vixen lands in with a splash into some unknown liquid. She is suddenly hit with a burst of the smell, and it took all her concentration not to throw up. "Merg... A sewer of all places." The vixen says out loud while trying to look around. The sewer was far to dark to see anything. She fumbles around in her backpack trying to find a flashlight made from a modified Swatbot laser. She finally finds it and clicks it on.

A sweep of the flashlight reveals that she is indeed in a normal sewer. She thinks carefully about the direction she was heading, and tried to guess the right direction that should lead her away from the city. For a long time she walked in the silence, only a random hollow drip could be heard once in a while.

Suddenly she heard footsteps that were not her own. She quickly turns off her light and presses herself against the wall. Soon a reddish light fills the corridors of the sewer. As the light came closer and grew in intensity, the vixen could see the light came from a torch. The torch was carried by a rat with the tip of his tail cut off.

At that moment, the vixen wished for nothing more than to be invisible at that point and time. As the rat approached, he caught sight of the Vixen pressed against the wall. "What do we have here? A lost Freedom Fighter?" The rat says with a sneer.

The vixen was in fear of her life, but she looks closer at the rat, noticing him to be unarmed. She started to relax a bit. "What's a Freedom Fighter?" The vixen asks shyly.

"If you don't know about the Freedom Fighters, then you mustn't be from around here. My name is Wranz, what is your name lovely?" Wranz asks the vixen.

"I...I'm Ivy MistFox... and I'm kind of lost." Ivy replies still feeling very shy.

"Well you have nothing to fear then, Wranz can show you the way out of here." Wranz motioned for Ivy to follow him. "If your looking for an exit out of the city, you where heading in the opposite direction." Wranz explains the layout of the sewers a bit. Then he went on to explain the reasons for him living down in the sewers.

The sewers connect to various parts of Robotroplis, and can safely get someone back and forth without the fear of Spybots following you everywhere. Wranz further explained that he steals supplies from Robotnik and has lived very comfortably on the scraps and waste of the Tyrant.

"Now then... that brings me to the part about the Freedom Fighters... They are an odd group that lives somewhere on the surface of the Great Forest. They also plunder from Robotnik, usually stealing the best scraps for themselves. I avoid those bigots at all costs. They clam they are trying to stop Robotnik, but it's been three long years since they started this brouhaha." Wranz leads Ivy to a grated section of the sewer. He gives it a twist counter clockwise and the grate pops out of place.

"Here we are, if you ever need to get into Robotroplis for anything, come to this grate and knock three times. I'll come here to help get you to anywhere you need... As long as you don't mind the smell that is." Wranz gave a small bow as Ivy left the sewers.

Once Ivy exited the sewers, she had only one thought on her mind. She needed to get clean and fast. She runs to a secluded pond she know of that has been untampered with by Robotnik's pollution. It was dark now, so she was certain she could clean herself in peace.

After freshening up, Ivy looks for some sort of shelter for the night. She has been a nomad ever since the coup, and she never stays in one spot for long. She wanders until she finds a small rotten and hollowed out tree of sorts. For the most part the tree is in one piece, but it is hollowed out with enough covering to hide her from most prying eyes. Soon she is falls into a deep sleep and dreams of a time of long ago.

Ivy wakes up in the courtyard of Acorn Castle. She was about five or six years old again. She runs round the castle gardens, laughing and chasing after butterflies. She is greeted by Eric. "Ivy… I don't know how to tell you this but… Your mother and I have decided to send you away to a private school away from Acorn castle. We want you to get a better education than you could here…" Eric explains this to his daughter. Not wanting to give her the real reasons for sending her away.

"Why is that daddy? Can't I stay here at the castle?" Ivy asks her nine tailed father.

Eric sighs, "Sorry hun, but you will be better off where we are sending you… You will be leaving tomorrow." Was all Eric could say about the situation.

Ivy stormed off mad, feeling like her opinion didn't matter to anyone. She runs out of the castle grounds and into the woods outside of the castle. She runs blindly not paying attention to where she is going. She ran for at least a half-hour before she began to get to tired to move any further.

Ivy plops down on the ground to rest. She hugs her knees and starts to cry, rivers of tears flowing down her cheeks. She was so wrapped up in her emotions she didn't notice that her father was standing next to her.

Eric followed her out of the castle and gave chase to her the whole time. He kept her in sight the whole time and once he caught up with her, he kneels down besides her and places a hand on her shoulder. "Ivy…. Things will be already… I promise you that."

"No it won't! I'll never get to meet my own brother now if you send me away." Ivy said in-between sobs.

Her dream then skips to a time where she is living at the private school. The school was an all girl's school ran by mostly contributions from Acorn Castle. Here the girls are taught many things like Literature, and other fine arts.

Every since Ivy started going to this school, she changed her last name to MistFox. She has felt betrayed ever since she was sent to this prison. Everyday she has been waiting and hoping that her brother would come and whisk her away, or at the very least visit her once in a while. Sadly he never came.

For years she went through her boring lesions, learning all about Mobius and the Great War. Ivy's dream takes up at the fateful night when the chaos started. Ivy was sitting in her room, bored as usual. She was reading an adventure book by candle light, she smuggled the book in from a nearby town.

It was a stormy night. Rain pounded against the roof of her room, sounding like an army was marching over her head. Soon, she hears an urgent tapping at her window. As she approaches, she sees white ears poking up from the window sill. Once she reaches the window, she sees who the ears belong to.

They belonged to her brother. Hakuzo climbs in the window quickly, and is breathing hard, as if he was running all night to get here. "Ivy... The castle is lost. Julian commanded his Guardbots to turn on everyone and he took over. The king is taken captive, and I came here to warn you that you have to leave this place immediately."

All of this hit Ivy suddenly. It felt like a lie… but the urgency and sincerity in his voice was all ivy needed to know that he was telling the truth. "Hakuzo….. Why…. Why didn't you come find me sooner? ", Ivy asks her soaked brother.

"I…. Tried… I though you where still living in the castle, but every time I went there, I never found you. Everyone said you where sent off somewhere else… but no one would tell me where." Hakuzo retells of his attempts to find her, but all led to dead ends. "Here, I've been holding onto these for a very long time… I was suppose to teach you how to use these… but I never got that chance."

Hakuzo hands Ivy a pair of crescent shaped chakrams. They have a blue iridescent color to them, and looked similar to boomerangs. "Ivy I want you to take these and use these to defend yourself… I can only give you a quick lesion of how to use them before I have to leave again."

For the next hour, Hakuzo showed his sister the proper way to hold the weapon, and how to throw them. He even showed her an effect way to block with them. This was the most enjoyment Ivy had had for years. She was happy for the first time in years.

"I must leave now…. You leave this place as fast as possible. I promises you I will find you again!" Hakuzo give his sister a hug and leaves out the same window he came in through. Ivy gathered up her things quickly, hoping to catch up with her brother again. Alas, she was too late to figure out which direction he went off to… so all she could do was leave on his advice.

Ivy wakes up with sunlight hitting her in the face. It takes her a few seconds to remember where she was after that dream. Why did she dream of her brother now of all times? She gets up and stretches. Since that night, she hasn't seen her brother for these long years. Suddenly she gets the idea to look for him.

"hmm… Wranz said something about a freedom fighter group? … That sounds like something my brother would do." Ivy know she will regret it, but she decides to go pay Wranz a visit.

After a short trip she arrives at the sewer gate, noticing it is more light to see by during the day. The smell was also worse during the day too it. Ivy knocks on the grate three times as told by Wranz. She waits quietly, for the rat to show up again.

Ivy was surprised by the quick response from the rat. She figures he lives close to this grate. "Hello again Ivy, I knew you would be back." Wranz opens the grate for her, and she notices that it may be possible to open the grate from this side in the future.

"Yeah…. About that… You mentioned something about a group yesterday… I want to find more out about them." Ivy asks again a shy streak filling her.

Wranz sighs, "If that's what floats your boat, so be it." Wranz starts explaining about what he knows of the Freedom Fighter. He tells her they are lead by Sally Acorn of Acorn Castle, and also about some of the other member. "Now, they have a few members I've never seen before. So I don't keep track of them." Wranz said while leading Ivy though the sewers. He soon brings her to a latter that lead to the surface.

"Follow me up topside, this area is deserted during the day and I want to show you something." Wranz climbs up the ladder and opens the manhole that leads to the fresh air. Ivy follows hesitantly and keeps up the Rat's quick pace on the surface.

He leads her to a small warehouse that was unguarded. Wranz hands Ivy a small flexible wire. He explains the art of lock picking to her. With a few instructions and Wranz guidance, she was able to pick the lock fairly easily. She seems to have a natural talent for it.

Inside the warehouse was a lot of replacement parts for Swatbots and Spybots. Ivy goes inside the warehouse and starts looking around for anything she could use. Wranz enters into the warehouse as well, and the door closes behind him. He slowly walks up to Ivy and places his hands lightly on her shoulders.

"You know... none of this is free. How about a little payment?" Wranz slowly moves his hands down her shoulders and starts trying to pull at Ivy's shirt.

"STOP IT YOU FREAK!" Ivy yells as she tries to get free from Wranz's grasp.

"Come on now, that isn't a way to treat someone that showed you his home and unique skills." Wranz tightens his grip on Ivy's arms.

Ivy gives a hard yank and breaks free of his grasp, the sleeves of her shirt ripping off in the process. Ivy backs to the door and draws out her chakrams. "Stay... Stay back you freak!" Ivy continues to back up taking up a defensive stance.

"Why are you playing so hard to get? It's common to return the favors given to you." Wranz slowly approaches Ivy with a look in his eyes of pure contempt. Ivy slashes Wranz across the cheek with one of her chakrams.

Wranz places a hand to his cheek, "You little B-," Ivy round-house kicks the pervert in his jaw before he could finish his sentence. Ivy uses this chance to try to get out of the door, but it was locked. She desperately looks around for a way to open the door, and she finds a control panel. As soon as Ivy was about to push a button, Wranz slams her to the ground.

"I...fink yo brok mi ja." Wranz tries to say as he tries to pin Ivy to the ground. Both of Ivy's chakrams where knocked out of her hand and went skiting across the ground.

"Let Go of me!" Ivy struggles under Wranz's weight, and suddenly gets an idea. Ivy kicks Wranz hard between the legs with enough force to send him flying over her and into the wall. Wranz impacts the wall and is knocked unconscious. "Serves you right prick!" Ivy kicks Wranz in the ribs and retrieves her weapons. She opens the door and destroys the control panel. She jumps out of the door right as it close again.

Ivy lets out a sigh, not sure if she can trust anyone anymore. She desperately wishes her brother was here now to take her away from this madness, but she has a lead now, and she won't give up. Ivy starts to feel a bit faint, realizing she hasn't ate anything since yesterday.

Ivy stumbles into the forest in search of some sort of food. It wasn't long before she couldn't find anything. She continues to desperately searches for food, but passes out.

"Sir, your double agent has news for you." Snivley tells his larger uncle.

"Put him on the screen Snivley." Robotnik commands. All of the different viewing screens switched to a single image of a rat. "What is your report Wranz?"

"wel... tht vixen yor look'n for is somewhr in the forst. Se brok my aw." Wranz tries to explain to Robotnik.

"I see... Snivley, Send out all patrols for that Fox, I want every square inch of Robotroplis watched at all times!"

"Very good sir," Snivley replies while adding under his breath, "maybe your roll over on her by accident and squish her."

"WHAT DID YOU SAY SNIVLEY?" Robotnik yells at his nephew.

Snivley squeaks, "Er... I said I'll get the Swatbots rolling on it right away Sir!"

"Make sure the find that Fox Snivley." Robotnik glares at Snivley with a look of pure evil.

Snivley squeaks again and starts giving commands to the Swatbots. Soon every square inch of Robotroplis is cover with twenty-four hour Swatbot patrols.

Lazar watches all that is going on with a magical viewer. He sees all the events that unfolded. He watches carefully over Ivy, and noting all the natural ability she has. He knows that her skills are unrefined and she need the rest of the Freedom Fighters to train her properly.

He also watches over Hakuzo, knowing that his abilities are untapped and need an accelerated approach to get them working. He devises a test for Hakuzo and Tails. Something that isn't life threating, but realistic enough to simulate danger.

Lazar stands up and presses a button on his belt and is transported to Knothole. This time he is going in person instead of using a magically projected image. The moment he appeared some of the residents of Knothole cried out in fear again, while others seem unphased by the appearance.

Sonic was the first to run up to Lazar asking, "What brings you here old man?"

"I'm here to train the foxes, It is of grate importance that I do this." Lazar states to Sonic.

"I'll gather them up for you the." Sonic speeds off in search of Tails and Hakuzo. Sonic finds Tails out in a clearing playing Dirt Hockey. "Hey bud, Lazar is here to see you and Hakuzo about something in person."

"Really? Is it safe?" Tails ask Sonic.

"I'm sure it is, Besides Lazar said it was urgent." Sonic then grabs hold of Tails and runs of in search of Hakuzo. Sonic finds Hakuzo at his personal shooting range. "Hey there Hakuzo, Lazar is looking for you and Tails."

"Hmm... I know this isn't going to be pleasant." Hakuzo says as he shakes his head. Sonic grabs onto Hakuzo's arm and starts running back to Lazar. The whole time Sonic was gone was ten seconds at most.

"Now that you the foxes are here, please follow me." Lazar motions for them to follow.

Lazar leads them into through part of the Great Forest. While explaining a few simple things about magic. "Magic is the manipulation of energy. You gather up that energy and make it bend to your will. You already know how to create FoxFire, but you do not yet know all that you can do with it. It can be used for more than a light show." Lazar continues to walk through the forest looking for a suitable place to begin the test.

"Each person has an affinity for a certain element. Sometimes one element, but generally each person has at least two element affinities. I will not tell you two any of your Affinities, but those are something you must find on your own." Lazar stops at a small clearing with a natural spring flowing.

Tails walks up to the stream and looks it over. "Wow, a natural spring unspoiled by Robotnik's pollution." Tails carefully sniffs at the water, "It even smells clean too!"

"That is why I chose this spot. Three of the Four elements are present here. Earth, Water and Wind. The last remaining element that is missing is Fire. All of these elements can co-exist in one environment, but some elements work against the other. Fire can not exist In a damp environment, so it is affected the most by outside sources." Lazar explains more about the elements while the whole time he secretly prepares the test he is about to administer.

Lazar gathers up fallen limbs and branches and piles them up on the ground. He waves his hand over them, and they burst into flames. "Hakuzo, Deep inside of you lies much more knowledge than you realize. A great magical energy lies within you, and soon the lost ways of the magic will come back to you." Lazar then turns to Tails, "You also have a potential for magic too, but it is all raw, and unrefined. You will require the knowledge Hakuzo unlocks inside of himself to progress any."

Lazar gives a nod at the fire, "Also, Hakuzo's sister has that same amount of raw magical power too. She just doesn't realize it yet." Lazar double checks to make sure everything is ready before he begins. "The first task you two must do is meditate upon the four elements present, and find your affinities."

Lazar motions for the two to sit down near the fire and instructs them to close their eyes. He then tells them to reach out their senses and feel the element that they are most connected to. Both foxes do as they are told and try their hardest to connect to the different elements.

Soon dust and embers start to swirl around Hakuzo while Wind swirls around Tails. Lazar gives a nod noting what each symbol represents. Tails was the first to speak. "The wind... It feels so comfortable. It's... like an old friend. It makes me feel safe..."

Lazar nods again even though none of the foxes see it. Hakuzo told his answer next. "hrm... The most comforting element to me is the Earth its self. No matter where you go, it is always under you. It is always a part of me. But... there is Fire too... It doesn't have the same feeling as the Earth, but still has a mind of its own. It... has a passion to protect others, but not to cause harm... It also appears to be searching for something..."

Lazar was practically ecstatic at this. "You two have done well. Hakuzo, your main element is Earth, it is your most driving feature. Fire is your secondary element, don't count it out though, as it will be just as useful to you." Lazar nods and turns his attention to Tails. "Tails your affinity lies with Wind, but not because it feels natural to you... No, your friend Sonic also has an affinity for Wind also. That is where his speed derives from, and is no accident."

"So... as long as I can feel the Wind... It would be like Sonic is watching over me no matter what happens?" Tails ask Lazar with an eager look.

"In a way,... Yes. You two have a connection because of that affinity." Lazar looks the two foxes over. "Now it is time for the real test. You two have a mission. Each of you will have to use your new found powers to find something in these woods. I will not tell you what it is you need to find, but I will tell you that it is a very close to each of you. "

Lazar presses a button on his belt and he starts to fade away. "I will leave you to your task. I will be watching you the whole time." Once Lazar faded, Hakuzo and Tails begin their search.

gwe should split up. I have a feeling that it will be easier that way. " Hakuzo suggests to Tails. Tails nods and both go their separate ways. Tails starts walking near the stream, following it. He has no idea what direction to go, and he looks around for anything that looks familiar to him.

He closes his eyes, and he feels the winds blow over him. Tails thinks he is imagining it, but it feels like the wind is trying to push him in a direction. He opens his eyes and looks in the direction the wind was trying to push him.

He didn't see anything yet, but he started to walk into that direction, hoping to find some kind of clue as to what he is looking for. As he kept walking the wind suddenly shifted and started blowing another direction. Tails follows the direction the wind is blowing to and continue down the path.

Tails kept following the way the wind led him, always moving in different directions. The wind led him to another small clearing with an odd tree in it. Tails approaches the tree slowly, and spots a small wrapped up package of sorts. Tails carefully opens up the package and finds a new pair of gloves inside.

The gloves where made of a different material than his current ones, and seems to be made of up of a stronger material. The gloves have a slight iridescent blue color to them. On the back of the gloves is the Kanji for wind, and some other marks. Tails removes his old gloves and puts on these new ones. They fit much better than his other gloves and feel more natural. A few moments later, a new energy of sort fills Tails, and the wind picks up around him and starts swirling.

Lazar's voice fills the air. "Congratulations young one, you have passed your test. These gloves will help you focus your powers and will aid you against Robotnik."

Hakuzo things hard of how he can possibly find what he is supposed to. He removes the fingerless glove from his right hand and places his palm to the ground. He closes his eyes and concentrates. He starts to feel a familiar energy. Even though it was Familiar, it also felt forgotten. Hakuzo's eyes snap open and he runs off to the direction of the familiar feeling.

End of Chapter 2


	3. Chapter 3

SatAm Fanfic Series: The Endless Struggle.

Ver: 1.0 1/20/2011

By: Hakuzo NightFox

Legal: This is a just for fun Fan-fic, I do not own any of the Characters belonging to Sega as they are copyrighted to Sega. I only own Hakuzo NightFox, and Bayne DayFox. Ivy MistFox belongs to herself.

Warning: Contains minor language, proceed with caution.

Chapter 3: Wayward Encounters

Lazar sips on some herbal tea as he watches Hakuzo's progress on a magical viewing portal. Lazar is amazed at how well these two foxes adapted to their new abilities in such a sort time.

"So my old enemy, I see you found a couple of new Pawns to do your work now?" A voice suddenly breaks the silence.

"Nagaus? How on Mobius did you get in here, past all my barriers?" Lazar asks the mutated spell weaver.

"Relax, I'm not here to cause harm, not today at least." Nagaus replies with a wheeze. "I simply come here for a treaty of sorts."

Lazar narrows his eyes as he evaluates the Sorcerer, not liking the sound of this 'agreement'. "What is it you propose?"

"Simple really, As you know, things are in motion. The world of Mobius is changing. Robotnik will no longer rule these lands anymore, and I will make sure that none stand in my way." Nagaus pauses for a moment, and strokes his beard with his crab like hand. "Side with me, and I will not cause you any harm. Ignore this, and you will have a war on your hands."

Lazar shakes his head. "I no longer follow the same path I used to. I will not side myself with someone that seeks the destruction of the planet."

"Consider this my final offer. Join me, and you will be spared. Stand against me, you will fall!" Nagaus states simply, unimpressed at Lazar's words.

"Our business is concluded here. Leave now and never return to this place!" Lazar replies rising from his chair.

"Fine, have it your way. You will not like the consequences." Nagaus turns around and promptly leaves the way he came. "Oh, and for you sake, you watch those foxes closely, or you may never see them alive again."

Near the outskirts of the Great Swamp, A black fox roams around looking for a object he was sent to find. The fox slowly picks his way through the overgrowth, with is favorite antique handguns used during the Great War.

He avoids gas pockets and quicksand in the boggy area. Each step has to be carefully tested, so that he isn't sucked into one of the random natural traps. The local wildlife continues making the usual chatter, as the fox approaches ever closer to his destination.

He stops for a moment with his target in sight. The fox catches sight of a rat entering into the ruins he was sent here to explore. "Oh Hell no! Why is Wranz here?" The fox takes off at full sprint wanting to confront his old associate.

"Wranz get your ass back here this instant!" The fox continues to curse and yell the whole way while chasing after the rat. The fox keeps this up the while time worried that Wranz is there to cut into his profits.

The rat stops suddenly in front of a stone door. The fox runs forward and slams the rat against the door. "Why in the hell are you here Wranz? This is my assignment."

"B—Bayne…. I didn't know you where sent here also… Robotnik sent me here to find an artifact here." Wranz says through Bayne's grip around his throat.

Bayne lets go of Wranz as he curses even more. "Robotnik told me that I was the only one sent here. That fat jelly roll is going to pay for this!"

"Seems Robotnik didn't think you could pull this off by yourself….." Wranz replied.

"Well, my fee just doubled!" Bayne continues to fume as he digs out a pocket communicator. Soon the face of Robotnik fills up the small screen. "What kind of joke are you playing here Robotnik? You told me that this was a solo job!"

Robotnik chuckles, "My dear DayFox, I received new data about the ruins and this job requires the skill sets of Wranz. "

"My fee for this job has doubled then Robotnik, I don't need him holding me back." Bayne replies to the Tyrant.

"Money is of no object AS long as I get that artifact!" Robotnik replies with an evil grin. "Get me what I want, and you will get your payment."

Bayne nods as he turns off the communicator. "So be it, but stay out of my way Rat!" Bayne takes a moment to inspect the door, trying to figure out how to open it.

"For a Fox you really don't know jack about getting in someplace. Step aside fluff tail" Wranz pushes Bayne aside and within a few moments, the door slowly opens. A musty smell assaults the two's senses.

Bayne grabs a pair of torches and lights them. He hands one of them to Wranz and they proceed down the entrance of the stone ruins. "So I heard some bitch vixen jacked your jaw hmm?" Bayne asks the Wranz as they proceed deeper into the ruins.

"Yeah… Nagaus had to use his Voodoo magic to fix my jaw. That bitch really knows how to fight." Wranz replies as he rubs his jaw remembering what happened.

The corridor opens into a lager room filled with sand. The light of the torches barely light up a fraction of the room. The sound of gears interlocking fills the chamber as the two Mobians enter the room. Sand falls from the ceiling like an hourglass, and the filters down into a hidden storage area. The Sand is ever flowing like a fountain and never completely fills the room.

"A sand fountain? Who in their right mind would do such a thing?" Bayne says out loud as he walks across a stone catwalk leading across the sands.

"Maybe you rival Hakuzo? I heard he likes earthy things." Wranz replies as he walks as close to the center of the stone catwalk as he can.

Bayne chuckles, "Yeah that sounds like something he would do." The two continue their useless banter as they proceed. One of them stepped on a hidden pressure plate that started to cause the room to completely fill up with sand. Within moments the path they came through was completely blocked up with sand.

Wranz holds his torch close to the sand, "Looks like we can't go back that way." Wranz was afraid of touching the sand in-case it would start flooding into this new corridor. Bayne didn't like the idea of being trapped inside of this place.

The short corridor opens up into a large cylinder shaped room. The walls where smooth and the middle of the room was circle made out of black stone. No visible openings or anything else was noticeable.

The two enter the room and look around lost. "Well this is just dandy. What on Mobius are we supposed to do now?" Bayne asks looking around the room.

Wranz sighs, "I see Robotnik didn't tell you any sort of information. You see the black stone here? It is connected to a mechanism that will spin the room around and take us to another part." Wranz pauses a moment, "But, there is also a trap here too. We have to stop the room at the exact right moment."

Bayne crosses his arms. "Fine, you take care of that then." Bayne was becoming highly annoyed that he wasn't told any of this information. Bayne continues to fume over this as the room suddenly starts to spin rapidly. "What the!" Was all Bayne could hell out as he was flung to the outer wall of the room.

Hakuzo knees on the ground, his palm out flat. He feels a pulse like energy in the earth. It feels very familiar, somehow like it's a part of him. The energy feels so familiar but he can't quite place it yet.

Hakuzo continues to concentrate, trying to figure out where the pulse is coming from. The energy has a feminine feel to it. Hakuzo's eyes snap open once he is sure he is facing the direction the impulses is coming from.

Hakuzo sprints at full speed heading toward the source of the energy. He only pauses once in a while to make sure that he is still going in the right direction. The impulses start to get stronger and stronger as he runs on.

Hakuzo stops suddenly as he sees a sight he thought he would never see again. His own sister was passed out on the ground in front of him. She is breathing, but remains unresponsive. So many emotions start to flood into Hakuzo sending him staggering to his knees. He has longed for so long to see his sister once again, and alive.

Hakuzo knows he has to get her to safety. He gently picks up his sister, noticing how light she is. He takes note that it appears she hasn't eaten well in days. Hakuzo heads back to Knothole at a slow pace wondering how he can revive his sister.

Bayne wakes up after the room stops spinning. The impact to the wall caused the dark colored fox to pass out. Wranz stands over him with a smirk on his face. "Rise and shine sleepy head. We got a lot more ground to cover."

Bayne snorts in reply and dusts himself off. Bayne grumbles to himself as he follows Wranz further into the ruins. After a long trek the two finally arrive at the room that houses the artifact.

Bayne starts to walk forward but Wranz arm blocks his progress. "What's the idea here?"

Bayne asks angerly.

"Stop you fool! This area is booby trapped just the same as the rest of the ruins." Wranz says as he carefully looks around the area. "There is a guardian here also. We have to defeat it to obtain the artifact."

"Just something else to annoy me, Oh well, at least I won't be bored." Bayne replies as he cocks back the hammer of his hand guns. He's been itching to shoot something all day long and is excited to finally get to do it.

Wranz ignores the trigger happy fox as he slowly walks around the perimeter of the room. The shape of the room is mostly circular except for a small indent in the rock surface. He looks carefully at the pedestal the artifact is housed on. Then he takes a closer look at the artifact.

The artifact looks like a coppery sphere ball. Upon further inspection the ball has lines and symbols cut into it. It is not quite a perfect sphere, as the very bottom of it is flat. The surface of the sphere is perfectly smooth.

Wranz places his hand on the sphere, but as soon as his hand comes in contact the pedestal. Wranz dangles in the air, while holding onto the lip of the pedestal. He loses his grip and falls to the ground squarely on his butt.

The pedestal rises up into the ceiling out of reach of the two Mobians. The wall that has an indent slides open revealing the guardian of the ruins. The creature lets out a roar and charges straight at Wranz and Bayne.

A groan is escapes Ivy as she starts to stir. Ivy stretches as she thinks she hears her brothers voice. _That can't be right...last I remember... I was in the forest._ Memories flood Ivy's mind as she feels she is about to pass out again. "Kuzo..." Ivy whispers as she passes back out.

A turtle wearing a white coat enters back into the room as soon he heard Ivy stirring. Hakuzo follows after at the mention of his name. "I..Ivy?" Hakuzo asks.

"Sorry Hakuzo, she already passed back out." The Turtle replies as he checks Ivy over. "She is still a bit dehydrated, and it looks like she hasn't ate much for a long time."

Hakuzo's face drops at the fact that his sister sill unconscious. The turtle frowns at Hakuzo, "I'm sorry about what happened to your sister. She still needs time to rest."

Hakuzo let's out a sigh and continues to frown. He has so many thoughts of everything that has transpired so far, so many things to catch up on and so many things to share. Hakuzo has been waiting for many years to see his sister is safe, and now that he found her again, he has to wait even longer.

He resigns and returns back to his home to rest and collect his thoughts. Hakuzo sits down on his sofa and closes his eyes for a moment. He was only intending to rest for a moment but he falls sleep.

Mist swirls around the twilight of the forest. The trees are illuminated with an eerie glow as the full moon casts a sickly green light over everything. Ivy is standing in the middle of it all. Lost and confused as to where she is.

Ivy can sense two different people. One that is very familiar to her and the other dark and much more sinister. Her fear starts to increase as the forest seems to grow darker. Ivy bolts into a dead run, fear completely encompassing her being.

"Calm down, and relax. This isn't real." A voice calls into her mind, also familiar but somehow forgotten. Ivy stops her run, and looks around. She walks up to the bank of a small lake, as a power ring floats up through the water and hovers in the air.

The ring flies off toward Ivy's outstretched hand, and floats a few inches above her paw. A new energy fills Ivy and she feels a new strength. The mist starts to clear some revealing a Fox wearing blue trimmed armor, wielding a sword. In front of the Fox is a misshapen creature with a lobster claw on one hand and a horn on his head.

Ivy recognizes the stance the Fox is standing in. "Ha…Hakuzo is that you?" Ivy asks the other Fox slowly approaching. The Fox holds out his arm signaling Ivy to stop. Ivy stops suddenly realizing the danger of the creature her brother is fighting.

"Ivy, stay back… Nagaus wants to steal away your power." Hakuzo relays to his sister as he holds the sword in front of him in a mid-guard.

Nagaus laughs maniacally, "Now I can take care of both of you at once!" Nagaus' clawed hand shots out towards Hakuzo, but lands only where the Fox was standing. Hakuzo counter attacks with a ball of FoxFire thrown at Nagaus' face.

Nagaus feels the impact of the FoxFire, feeling like hot lava was just chucked at his face. He claws at his face, trying to get the burning sensation to stop. Nagaus roars out and launches a wave of solidified darkness at Hakuzo but it stops in the middle of the air.

Ivy steps forward glowing with a golden energy. The attack reverses its self and slams into Nagaus' chest. He roars out in pain then suddenly disappears. Lazar arrives at the next moment, causing Ivy to recoil backwards. "w-who are you?" Ivy asks.

"I am Lazar, Technomage of Mobius. Nagaus is after you and your bother. Contained within both of you is a power far grater than Nagaus can dream of. He wishes to take away that power and use it against Mobius." Lazar states as he approaches Ivy. "You, Ivy MistFox, have a vast amount of untapped magic within your blood. Learn from your brother and use it well. It may save both of your lives one day."

Lazar fades away into the mist, leaving Ivy and Hakuzo to the darkness of the forest. Ivy looks down at the power ring in her hand, and closes her eyes.

Ivy's eyes snap open. She groggily looks around, taking note of her being in a new location. The last thing she remembers was running through the forest. She looks around with her eyes still blurry. As they start to focus she can tell she is in some sort of hospital.

Ivy tries to sit up too quickly and gets dizzy nearly passing out again. "Mergh…. Where am I?" She gently lies back down, resting. She hasn't ate much in the past few days and is still in a weaken state.

The Turtle enters back into the room after hearing Ivy's question. "You are in Knothole my dear, your brother found you in the woods and carried you all the way back here." The doctor starts checking Ivy's vitals and making sure everything is ok. "You appear to be rather anorexic at the moment, you'll be fine after you get some something to eat and time to rest." The doctor has one of the nurses bring Ivy some nourishment and goes about checking on the rest of his patents.

Ivy is helped up into a sitting position and slowly starts to eat. Her mind is still clouded after all the events that have transpired and she still feels confused. She relaxes a bit as her surrounding start to feel safe, unlike when she was on the run for most of her life.

Hakuzo falls out of his sofa, hitting his muzzle on the ground and waking up with a start. The cause was a knocking on his door woke him suddenly. "….ow…..", is all the Kitsune could say as he picks himself up off of the ground.

Hakuzo shakes his head and answers the door. Sally was waiting on the other side of the door. "Your sister is a wake now. I'd figure you wanted to visit with her. I'll be going with you, as there are some matters we must discuss about her staying in knothole or not."

"Hmm… I'm not sure if Ivy would agree to stay here. She has been running most of her life, and she may not want to stay here." Hakuzo replies unsure how his sister would react.

The two walk in silence to the knothole's hospital hut. Hakuzo continues to think over the dream he had. The armor and sword felt so familiar. He has never seen either one of these before, but they felt so real. He also thinks about the power ring that Ivy used. Only Sonic is supposed to be able to use the power of the ring. Sonic's uncle Chuck, created them to be specifically tied into his DNA. So how could his sister harness the power, maybe Hakuzo could do it the same.

Sally and Hakuzo are taken back to where Ivy is recovering at and doctor explains a few things to them before they enter. Both enter into the room, and Ivy immediately looks up to here Brother. "Hakuzo….. Thanks, for saving me… I don't know what would have happened to me if you didn't find me."

Hakuzo sits down in a chair near his sister, "I had some help. I could feel your energy through the earth its self. I followed that energy and found you passed out. So I carried you here straight away."

Sally nods in confirmation. "Hakuzo brought you here right away and the doctor took care of you straight away. Once you recover, what are your plans? You are more than welcome to stay here in Knothole." Sally tells Ivy about how Knothole can sustain any number of refugees and the plenty of room they have. Sally hopes that the vixen will stay in Knothole and become a Freedom Fighter.

Ivy considers this offer, for so long she has been alone, roaming the forests unsure where her next meal will come from. Here, had everything she could ever need, a warm place to stay, and plenty of food to eat. She knows she is welcomed here, but she also doesn't want to feel like she is freeloading either. "I don't know…. I don't want to be a burden to you guys…"

"You are no burden Ivy. You are fully welcome here; we can always use another hand to help deal with Robotnik." Sally gently places a hand on Ivy's shoulder, "Your bother has been worried about you ever since he brought you here, and I know it would make Hakuzo happy if you stay here in our village."

Ivy thinks over everything thoroughly, she really doesn't want to live out in the wild for the rest of her life. At least here, she can make it without having to steal just to survive. "I… need time to think about it. Given my current condition though, I'm not going anywhere." Ivy replies, hoping that her words will suffice for now.

Hakuzo just sits there silently lost in his own thought. There's so much that he wants to catch up with, but he knows that his sister still needs rest. The silence is awkward, but Hakuzo continues to remain silent unsure how to respond to this situation.

Sally seems to sense this uneasiness, and decides it best to politely excuse herself from the picture. "I have some matters to attend to, Hakuzo, you can fill in your sister about life in Knothole." Sally promptly walks away and Hakuzo only nods in response.

After a few more minutes, Ivy breaks the silence. "Kuzo, I what to thank you for saving me. I don't know what would have happened if you didn't find me when you did…."

"It's ok Ivy. You are my sister after all, I'm glad I was able to help you." Hakuzo replies his feeling mixed between sadness for not being around to help his sister, and happiness for finally seeing his sister alive still.

Hakuzo explains a bit of Knothole's layout to Ivy, telling her where to find anything she may need. He tells her about the water mill used to produce electricity for the village and some of the other various aspects of living in Knothole. Once Hakuzo explained these things he left to allow his sister some more time to rest.

A living statue charges forward at Bayne and Wranz, it has a razor sharp beak and skin made out of stone. It's large wings expand outwards as enters into the room, giving it the form of a Griffon. The door it came out of slides shut with a loud bang, sending dust flying into the air.

"How the heck am I supposed to defeat a living statue with no weapon?" Wranz says suddenly becoming very scared for his life.

"Hrmph!" Bayne unholsters his semi-automatic pistols and starts unloading shots into the gargoyle. Each impact into the stone skin of the creature causing chips of stone to fly about. The gargoyle doesn't even seem to notice the numerous holes. It continues to charge forward, heading straight for Wranz.

Wranz attempts to retreat but he trips backwards and falls to the ground. The Griffon heads straight to the downed Rat and attempts to peck him. As the gargoyle starts to strike, part of its beak flies off due to Bayne hitting a weak-spot in the stone.

"Hah, not so tough now without a beak eh bird brain?" Bayne insults as he becomes too confident. The Griffon smacks one of its wings into Bayne sending him flying. Wranz took this distraction to scurry out of the way of the stone bird and looks around for something he can use as a weapon.

Wranz looks around the room desperately but it appears to be completely clear of any sort of weapons or anything of use. He carefully presses himself against the wall, while trying to find some sort of hidden panel. His searching was cut short as the Griffon charges at him again, with part of its beak missing; it easier to dodge the creature's pecks.

Bayne jumps back up after being knocked down and starts unloading more rounds into the creature. He changes out to his last clips and continues to fire at the creature. The Gargoyle starts chasing after Bayne again giving Wranz a chance to start looking around for anything that could be hidden in the room, anything from a weapon to a possible trap.

The Griffon slashes its wing at Bayne but he barely dodges it in time. He unloads the rest of his bullets into the creature but the creature continues it attack. Bayne holsters his empty weapons and starts running away like a scared rabbit.

The Gargoyle chases after Bayne as he runs laps around the room. Wranz went back to looking for some hidden nook while Bayne was the distraction. Wranz's hand runs over apart of the wall that had a slightly different texture than the surrounding wall. With a quick press part of the floor opens up revealing stone spikes. Only small catwalks remain.

Bayne almost falls into one of the pits but was able to keep his balance. "Well I guess I was able to learn something from that slacker Hakuzo." The Griffon nimbly flies into the air, and avoids falling into the spikes.

"Shoot!, This is no good. Bayne!, We have to lure him from the sky." Wranz shouts at Bayne.

"Damnit Wranz, you are an ass! All you did was increase our chances to die, you so are a retard too!" Bayne continues to curse while ducking attacks from the air-born Griffon. The Gargoyle strikes again and Bayne throws himself to the narrow catwalk.

Wranz thinks over a plan carefully. He has to bind the wings of the statue and cause it to plummet to the ground. "Bayne continue to distract the Griffon, I have a plan!"

Bayne grumbles before replying. "You owe me big time Rat tail!" Bayne holds a low stance and starts yelling at the Griffon on the top of his lungs. "Hey stone ass, Bet you can't hit me!" Bayne ducks another attack and continues to shout at the gargoyle.

Wranz slowly makes his way towards the column that houses the artifact. He scales the side of the rough surface and yells another command at Bayne, "Draw the Griffon this way, and be quick about it!"

Bayne continues to grumble and draws the Griffon closer to Wranz Bayne ducks yet another attack from the Griffon and Wranz takes his chance. He kick pushes off of the pillar and lands in the back of the Gargoyle.

The added weight forces the Griffon to nose-dive into the spikes. Wranz jumps off before the heavy statue impacts the spikes. He lands on the narrow catwalk as the gargoyle shatters into small chunks.

All at once the floors close up and the column lowers. Wranz grabs the artifact and the door the Griffon came through opened up. Revealing an exit to the ruins. Both Mobians promptly leave and Bayne radios for Robotnik. A few minutes later Robotnik arrives in person.

"Excellent, You two have done very well. Both of you will get a very special bonus." Robotnik gives them both double pay for the job. Bayne promptly takes half of Wranz's earnings.

"Now we are even Rat Ass! Don't you dare ever do something like that ever again!" Bayne states as he counts out his money. Robotnik only gloats at the greed Bayne is showing and earns him even more respect from the over-shape dictator.

End of Chapter 3


End file.
